Golf putter



Jan. l2, 1954 P. L. WILSON GOLF PUTTER Filed Feb. 27, 1951 JANE/vrom PAGE L 5190;/ h//Lso/v Patented Jan. 12, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GOLF PUTTER Page Leroy Wilson, LosAngeles, Calif.

Application: February 27, 1951, Serial'No. 212,960

1 Claim. l

My invention relates to golf putters and more particularly to a golf putter havingA a novellyshaped head providing a ball-engagingv surface convex in oneV plane but not inA a plane perpendicular thereto.

Conventionalv golf putters provide a head or blade with a ball-contacting surface angling from the axis of the shaft or handle. The ball-contacting face engages thev ball at a positionv below itsrhorizontal mid-sectional plane. This exerts a` force on the ball in a direction which is inclined upwardly and results in the ball being pitchedor lifted. The ball often leaves the ground or the green, causing it to hop there along toward the cup. Additionally, with a conventional golf putter it is almost impossible to avoid some side spin of the ball, this side spin tending to divert the ball from the desired path during its airborne trajectory or when it reengages the ground or turf, leading to inaccurate putts.

It is an object of the present invention to pro vide a golf putter which will apply to the ball during a normal stroke a force which is exactly or nearly horizontal and with no substantial "lcomponent tending to lift the ball. It is a further object of the invention to provide a golf put ter inr which thev ball-containing surface is convex in one plane but not in a plane perpendicular thereto, the plane of convexity being an upright plane when the club is in a ball-engaging position.

Many conventional golf putters tend to cause the ball to roll up the inclined ballfcontacting face, causing the ball to take a back spin in, a

direction opposite to the direction the. ball would turn as a result of contact with the ground. The ball thus tends to start its course of travel spinning in a direction which must be reversed during the latter part of its travel and as it rolls toward the cup. In some instances, the ball may actually spin both backwardly and forwardly in sequence but, in any event,y the tendency toward an initial backward spin retards the starting of the desirable forward spin. In either instance, the plane of the backward spin may not be exactly in the desired plane of travel of the ball, rel sulting in inaccurate. putts. Additionally, in either instance. the ball tends to. slide or skid along the green for a small period of timev either with a reverse spin or with no spin, this slidingv also leading to inaccurate putts.

It is an object of the present invention to apply a putting force to the ball with no tendency to establish a backwardspin but in a direction always exactly toward; the center of the ball so that the ball can startitstravel in. contact withv the ground or green to assume immediately its desired forward roll. In this connection, it is an object of. the invention to: provide a. golf putter in which the'balli contacts they putter surface at a point, and in which the friction at this point, between the ball andthe ball-engaging surfaca, is insignificant as comparedlwith the frictional force required to slide the ball along the ground or green. With this arrangement, there is substantialiy nc torce tendingy to retard the immediete forward rolling of the ball, the forward roll being initiated by contact with the ground and by the continued contact-between the head of the putter and the ball as thev putter stroke is continued, the thus-initiated forward roll continuing throughout the path of thel ball. This leads to much more accurate putts and also makes it practically impossible tov put a side spin on the ball.

It is an important objecty of the presentY invention to provide. a golf. putter having a ball-engaging surface which is the. segment of a cylinder. In some embodiments of the invention, it is an object. to provide a golf putter with a completely cylindrical head.

Putters of the type described in the preceding paragraph fulfill another object of the invention,

namely, the provision of a golf putter in which they pointy of, contact with the ball is always in a line joining the center of the ball and the center of the cylindrical segment. An imaginary line drawn between the center ol the ball and the center of the putter head is hereinafter termed a dead center line, and it is an object of the invention tol shape the ball-contacting surface so that the Vpoint of engagement with the ball is always along this line, irrespective of whether the dead center line is exactly horizontal er minutely displaced from such horizontal position.

In; the .preferred arrangement, the head is mounted to the shaft tc extend at an obtuse angle. Stated in other words, the longitudinal axis of the head extends at an cbt se angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. It is an object ofthe invention to provide a golf putter of this type having a ball-engaging crest which will extend horizontally during the putt. It is also an object of the invention to provide a golf putter tion, the direction of drive of the ball would depend upon which point of the crest engaged the ball, and the action would be more nearly akin to the engagement between two billiard balls in which direction of movement of the driven ball depends upon the lateral displacement between the balls. By making the crest line of the invention a straight line, the golf ball will be driven in the same direction irrespective of the lateral position of the head relative to the ball.

A further object of the invention, in one of its embodiments, is to produce a golf putter which can be used equally well by right-handed and lefthanded golfers.

Further objects of the invention will be evident to those skilled in the art from the following description of the exemplary embodiments.

Referring to the drawing: K

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a golf putter of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view ofthe putter head of Fig. l taken in the direction of the arrow 2;

Figs. 3 and 4 are views similar to Fig. 2 showing alternative embodiments;

` Fig. 5 is an enlarged diagrammatic view illustrating some of the forces and actions involved in the present invention during a normal or preferred putt; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are similar views showing the desired relationships even if the ball is hit beyond or ahead of a mid-swing position of the club.

Referring particularly to Fig. l, the golf putter of the invention is shown as including the conventional shaft I having a gripping portion II often wound with a spiral member to provide a hand grip l2. The main portion of the shaft may be formed of wood or metal, Fig. 1 showing a conventional tubular shaft with stepped diameters decreasing toward the lower end.

To the lower end of the shaft II! is connected a putter head I having a central axis A-A which preferably forms an obtuse angle relative to the central axis B-B of the shaft IU. This obtuse angle is such as to dispose the head I5 a convenient distance forward of the golfers feet when making the putt and does not differ substantially from angles heretofore employed in conventional putters.

rl'he head I5 is connected permanently to the shaft I 0 as by a connection i1 which may be a welded, screwed, braised or soldered joint if, as is preferred, the shaft and the head are made of metal. However, any suitable connecting means can be employed so long as it will connect the head I 5 rigidly to the shaft I0. Y A vThe head I5 is shown as a cylindrical member I8 providing a ball-contacting surface I9 representing a forward segment of the cylindrical surface of the cylindrical member I 8. This cylindrical member may be hollow or solid and, in either event, is preferably balanced by an appropriate distribution of weight from the Vconnection l'l to the outermost end of the head I5, which end may be plane or slightly convex.

If, as suggested in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, the shaft I0 extends centrally upward from the head I5, this embodiment provides another ball-contacting surface 2B opposite the surface I9 and representing a cylindrical segment usable by a left-handed golfer. In other instances, the shaft Ill may be offset relative to the head I5. as suggested in Fig. 3. Nor is it essential that the surface I 8 be completely cylindrical. Fig. 4 suggests an vembodiment in which merely the forward half of the head is cylindrical, the-rear half providing a flat 22 which is not normally used in putting but which may be added for purpose of appearance or for bettering the balance of the putter.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showing the relative sizes of the head I5 and a conventional golf ball 25 resting on the ground, green or turf suggested by the line 26, Fig. 5 also showing certain of the principles of the invention. The usual golf ball has a diameter of about 1.680" and the present invention contemplates that the diameter of the head I5 should be less than that of the ball 25. A head diameter of about l" to 11/2", corresponding to a radius of about .5-.'75", is preferred and excellent results will be obtained by making the head diameter about 11/3". Fig. 5 shows the head I5 striking the ball 25 when the shaft l0 is in a perpendicular plane and when the center of the head is opposite the center of the ball to produce a horizontal dead center line 21, representing the condition during the usual putt. With the dimensional relationships shown, this leaves a clearance between the lower end of the head I5 and the ground, indicated by the double-headed dimensional arrow 28, of approximately l/g-. This is the usual clearance employed by the golfer in making a putt to avoid contact between the putter and the ground. Stated in other words, when the putter of the present invention is used in the most natural and normal way, the clearance will dispose the center of the head I5 horizontally opposite the center of the ball 25.

The point of contact 30 between the head l5 and the ball 25 will always lie along any line drawn between the center of the head and the center of the ball. This is true even though the head I5 is minutely below or minutely above the position shown in Fig. 5, e. g., whether the dead center line 21 is exactly horizontal or minutely inclined or declined. This has the distinct advantage that the total weight of the club head is directly opposed to the total weight of the ball, the pressure being applied to the ball along the dead center line 21.

The friction at the point of contact 3G is extremely small, and any pressure applied through this point to the ball will be insignificant in preventing the ball from immediately starting its forward roll, in the direction of the arrow 3|. This is in contradistinction to conventional putters which start the ball on its course with a reverse roll which tends to cause the ball initially to skid along the ground before it can assume its normal forward roll. As the ball 25 starts its forward roll, with the ball-contacting surface I9 still in engagement therewith, the point of contact 30 still remains on the dead center line 27 and exerts practically no frictional effect retarding the forward roll of the ball. As the ball 25 continues its movement with the surface I9 still in engagement therewith, such engagement does not retard the forward roll but rather accentuates and guides it during the upswing of the head because the point of contact 30 rises above the horizontal mid-plane of the ball during such upswing.

Because of the factors noted above, the putter of the invention applies to the ball 25 a substantially horizontal force represented by the force vector 33. This force will be along the dead center line and will be normal to the crest of the ball-contacting surface I9. As this crest line is a straight line in the present invention, the ball 25 will be driven in the same direction whether the point of contact 30 is near the toe or the heel of the head I5.

Most golfers using the present invention will prefer that the head I5 should strike the ball when the shaft Il! is substantially in a vertical plane, e. g., near the mid-point of the swing. However, the same advantages discussed above will be obtained if the head I5 contacts the ball 25 either beyond or ahead of the mid-point of the swing, as suggested respectively in Figs. 6 and 7, thus eliminating inaccuracies conventionally present if the ball is not disposed exactly in the lplane of the golfers hands.

As previously mentioned, in using the putter of the invention there is no tendency to loft the ball when the head I5 is in the position shown in Fig. 5. This position will almost automatically be the one used by the golfer in judging the normal ground clearance. However, even if the ground clearance should be minutely less or minutely greater than that shown in Fig. 5, there is still substantially no tendency to loft or decline.

the ball. Even if the clearance is made extremely small, the ball will not be lofted to any substantial extent due to the fact that the head I5 is not too much smaller than the ball 25. In addi-` tion, even if any lofting tendency was present, there would be no tendency for an initial back ward spin of the ball because the point of Contact always lies upon the dead center line 2'I.

Various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims and will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the embodiments herein exemplified.

I claim as my invention:

A golf putter for advancing a golf ball of a diameter of about 1.68 inches along a green in a. straight line without side spin and with a forward roll imparted by prolonged contact with the putter during engagement between the ball and the green comprising; a relatively long metal handle having a longitudinal axis and a lower end; and a relatively short hollow metal head having a straight longitudinal axis, said head being secured to said lower end of said handle at a point spaced only slightly inwardly of said head from one end of said head to leave a small portion cf the head extending to one side of the lower end of the handle with a major portion of the head extending to the other side of such lower end of the handle, the longitudinal axis of said head being at an obtuse angle relative to the longitudinal axis of said handle and substantially intersecting same, said head having a smooth cylindrical surface free of surface irregularities and obstructions, said cylindrical surface comprising a ball-contacting surface and said cylindrical surface being concentric with said longitudinal axis of said head and of a radius between .5 inch and .75 inch whereby the line of centers joining the center of the golf ball and said longitudinal axis of said head will be substantially horizontal when said putter is swung with conventional clearance between the head and the green and whereby said line of centers will pass through the point of contact between said cylindrical surface and said ball at all times during the swing of the putter and while the ball is in contact therewith.

PAGE LEROY WILSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 156,963 Johnson Jan. 24, 1950 1,177,266 Pederson Mar. 28, 1916 1,409,966 Plant Mar. 21, 1922 1,525,137 Lawton Feb. 3, 1925 1,654,916 Boyce Jan. 3, 1928 1,847,963 Hix Mar. 1, 1932 1,930,477 Hosier Oct. 17, 1933 2,491,383 Liolich Dec. 13, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 14,160 Great Britain 1898 

